COLUMBIA — Missouri doctoral student Emma Nicoson says fashion has been at the center of her life.

"When I was 9 years old, I asked for a sewing machine and I just started ripping things apart — and I drove my parents crazy," Nicoson said.

Growing up in the small town of Brazil, Indiana, Nicoson found her passion and a best friend.

"It's funny because I know her parents' name, but I still call them Mr. and Ms. Nicoson, and I think I've done that since I've been 15," Aaron See, a longtime friend of Nicoson's, said. "She's going to be part of my life and my soon-to-be son's life until I kick the bucket."

Their relationship only grew stronger after See was diagnosed with a rare eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

Doctors told See, who was a very active teenager playing baseball an

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